Those who knew her have said the late Betty Jane France was kind, classy and generous with her time, but it was her ability to bring those same qualities out in others that helped grow The NASCAR Foundation into the success that it is today. On Thursday, The NASCAR Foundation celebrated its 15th anniversary and did it on the birthday of its founder and chairwoman emeritus, Mrs. France.
The day featured a virtual Town Hall Meeting with Lesa France Kennedy, Ben Kennedy and Mike Helton. This esteemed leadership group shared admiration for the work The NASCAR Foundation is doing as it continues Mrs. France‘s legacy of helping children.
Since being founded in 2006, The NASCAR Foundation has raised nearly $40 million to impact the lives of more than 1.4 million kids in NASCAR-served communities. Over the years, two of the pillars of The NASCAR Foundation have been the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award and the Speediatrics Children‘s Fund.
Each year, four finalists are selected and then voted upon for the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. With the award hitting the 10-year milestone in 2020, there have been 40 finalists who have earned more than 625,000 votes cast in the contest. The NASCAR Foundation has contributed $1,770,000 to children‘s charities represented by award finalists over that time, and those charities have been able to serve the needs of 354,647 children.
See more at NASCAR.com.
